Web Bonus

By Frank Wells

New York, NY (November 2006)--Business is good each of the acoustic designers recently surveyed by Pro Sound News, despite the downturn in the once traditional large studio market. Greenwood Lake, NY-based Larry Swist of Lawrence P. Swist Designs says his business is "doing very well. We have more than doubled our client load from last year and have had to expand our staff accordingly to maintain and/or increase our expected level of client service and project management." John Storyk of the Walters-Storyk Design Group reports being simply "busier than ever," while Russ Berger says business for the Russ Berger Design Group is "strong across the board and surprisingly diversified.

"For example," Berger elaborates, "we are just finishing an expansion for the NFL Network in L.A., adding a new soundstage that just came on line and approximately 25,000 sq. ft. of technical production space. At the same time, we have several public radio stations in the works, including a new home for Southern California Public Radio with a live outdoor studio, perhaps a first of its kind." One notable change in the scope of Berger's current projects is in the private home studio market, he says RBDG is "seeing a change in the attitude of 'we can record and mix anyplace' to an attitude of knowing and wanting the same level of acoustical quality, noise criteria and ergonomic design that were once only available in dedicated commercial facilities that were designed to provide such things." He also reports that there "seems to be a real desire to have the home studio divorced from the family home proper while still being an annex or separate out building on the property. (In other words, a place you can still get to in your bathrobe)."

Chris Pelonis of Pelonis Sound and Acoustics calls his company's business "never better;" this, despite recent personal tragedy. "I had a brain tumor removed (benign) a couple of years ago. It was quite dramatic. No grey matter was touched fortunately but I wasn't sure how the industry would view this. I never got the recommended six months recovery. I was working right away and took on more than I had ever before." Pelonis says that perhaps he jumped in to so many projects to prove something to himself, but that he and his clients have been very pleased with the results. "I don't know if people thought they might want to get me before I kick it or if it is simply a blessing. I'll take the blessing."

Pelonis (www.pelonissound.com) says he has set new standards for himself. "I have also created some very exciting additions to my speaker line, the Pelonis Signature Series. The speakers are getting better and better. Some of the new models are designed for plug and play as opposed to requiring me to set them up, so I expect to see some growth there." He reports a good reception for his speaker products at the recent AES convention.

Berger (www.rbdg.com) says he has clients now focusing on going green with their projects, including RadioShack's one million square foot corporate broadcast/production facility-the such facility that is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified. LEED techniques are also being employed for his designs at Sweetwater, and the retail giant moves into all new facilities, including new studio spaces for Sweetwater Productions. The RadioShack project also led to design work on radio and television broadcast and teaching facilities for the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

In addition to the large-scale projects Berger works on, he says that "personal production studios have increased in number and sophistication, because producers and artists find they can save considerable money and maintain better control over the quality of their product by building their own facilities. We are very excited about working with Leslie Brathwaite, a premiere talent in producing and mixing, who is building a new ground-up complex for his in-house work that is a mix of residential and technical space."

For Waterland's van Haaf (www.waterland.com) the current workload means he "would like to hire four more people" to help with the influx of business. Huston says business "has been wonderful" for Rive Audio, increasing over the last two or three years. "As well as work in the States," he says, "at this time we have projects for clients as far a field as Cyprus, Slovenia, Jakarta, England and South Africa." For his part, Manzella says FM Design is extremely busy, calling the projects previously described an "interesting cross section of work," with several other "nice sized" projects poised to come online.

In educational facilities, Swist (www.lpswistdesigns.com) finds another trend, "where we have recently begun morphing conventional control room designs to also provide higher degrees of classroom/lecture hall type capabilities." As well as acoustic and physical designs, Swist says that, "We have also seen an increase in the demand from the designer to provide more turnkey solutions including equipment evaluations/recommendations as well as wiring integration."

Berger reports a maturation of expectations in the home theater market. "People are beginning to recognize that acoustics can make an enormous difference in the performance of their theater space. Even the best equipment will sound mediocre in a room with poor acoustics, but good acoustics can make even average equipment sound great. Just as high performance cars do not come with cheap tires, high-performance home theaters need quality acoustics to perform well."

At Rives Audio (www.rivesaudio.com), Chris Huston says that while "home studios have definitely replaced the major rooms in number," that Rives Audio has also found themselves "applying the acoustics and know-how gained over the last 30 years to clients who want the best of acoustic environments for their listening rooms, home theaters, churches and ministries."

Manzella says that he believes that it is because "FM Design is willing (and eager) to speak with clients about all different sizes of projects that we have and will continue to maintain our varied cross-section of clientele. We take a lot of jobs that some larger firms wouldn't, and because of my long experience in the recording business, we get a shot at our share of the "big ones".

Who May I Say Is Calling?

"My clients today are much like the past 20+ years," says Pelonis, citing variety among his clients ranging from individuals, production entities and corporations. "Currently, my corporate clients are BET and Sony," he elaborates. "Companies I am working for are Audio Mechanics in Burbank, CA and Nettleingham Audio in Vancouver, WA." Among Pelonis' clients are also private individuals and independent entertainment and dining establishment, including "One high end home entertainment project in Santa Barbara(Private), Steven Jenkins of Third Eye Blind in San Francisco, Aris Archontis in Sherman Oaks, and Yogi's Sports Bar and Jimmy O's Sport Bar in North County San Diego. There are a half dozen other projects starting as well." Pelonis says this client base has not changed significantly in to past few years, though he does say, "the interactive computer world is growing and may be taking a larger amount of my work over say film post houses."

Swift says his company's clients, "range from large established commercial recording studios (Right Track/Sound On Sound and Quad Recording NYC) to new commercial studio ventures (Island Vortex, Hawaii; Eastco Multimedia, NY) to recording studios for educational institutions (State University of New York at Fredonia; Hawksbridge Institute, NH) to Film/Video audio post facilities (Sol Seven Recording, CA) and finally to privately owned home studio annexes (Simon Climie, Nice, France; Marshall Carson/MasterWorks, TN)."

As for business trends, Swift says that there "seems to be less work from the larger established commercial facilities and more from educational institutions and private studios. The audio post sector seems relatively unchanged." For his part, Storyk says WSDG is staying busy with "lots more small projects," but is happy with the trend as he describes the projects as "much more fun."

Russ Berger of the Russ Berger Design Group out of Dallas, TX says that RBDG is "designing commercial and private recording studios, corporate production facilities, commercial and private post production houses, radio and television stations and networks, home theaters, personal music listening and performance." Berger elaborates that facilities of all types are becoming more specialized. "Of course that's true of home theaters and personal listening rooms, but it's also true of commercial and corporate facilities that now feel they need to serve a specific niche or function rather than trying to be all things to all people. There are more opportunities now to create spaces that are truly unique, both in technical performance and in architectural and interior design. Clients seem to want something more than another generic room to do just what everyone else is doing. They're looking for something that is just about them."

Waterland Design's Vincent van Haaf says he's working on a broad variety of project, with clients that include Universal Music, Interscope and Geffen on the corporate side, private clients including artists Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas, Herb Alpert, and Rick Springfield, along with 20th Century Fox president Jim Gianopulos. The Record Plant is employing Waterland's services, as is music school franchise, the School of Rock. "In general," says van Haaf, "a mixture of Institutional, Private, and Educational. The emphasis has changed to Private," including some fifteen other clients around the world, with recent project types spanning "Recording Studios (with the capitals), recording rooms in the house, project studios, screening rooms, houses of worship, schools, home theater and home additions." van Haaf says there's been little change in the types of clients he's served the last few years. "The big change happened after 1996," he says, "when the private studio became more pronounced." And now, "more private studio owners can afford to upgrade to more sophisticated gear."

Huston says that although they continue to design professional and home studios, "we have made a major shift in that we are being retained more and more to design two-channel Listening Rooms for audiophiles and home theaters. The change in the studio business has had an impact on the whole music business, but the change for us has been the growing awareness and adaptation to new areas that can benefit from our design and consultation services."

At FM Design, Manzella says that they also enjoy a "very mixed variety of clients. Right now FM Design is working on two home based post production suites, a large mastering facility, a film/media educational facility, a venue/recording Studio in one of the country's 'music Meccas,' as well a couple of other mid sized music recording facilities in major markets. We are also working with a well-known music school on a long-term improvement project," though he says confidentiality requirements force him to be vague about specifics on ongoing projects. "I would have to say that we have historically maintained a very mixed bag of clients. We do our share of large commercial multi-room facilities (The Palms, The Barber Shop, Sterling Sound) as well as a lot of 'boutique operations and home-based studio/post business operations."

While Manzella says that his client base is mostly a "status quo" situation, he qualifies that, saying that "as the equipment gets less expensive and more powerful, everyone seems to resent the fact that construction costs continue to rise each season. The costs of raw materials from sheetrock, to framing and insulation have gone up, up, up for the past five years. This forces construction budgets to creep continually upward." He says clients don't truly understand why it costs more to build the facilities while they are spending less to equip them. Storyk offers a slightly different slant, saying that while WSDG is working on "more studios than ever before," that lower equipment costs and better acoustic materials make it "much more fun to build a studio these days."

Function Defining Form

Industry business trends bring changes in design approaches, which Pelonis says are "always adapting." He explains that we are "a very innovative industry and with that come innovations in business models." He says he has helped clients create facilities supporting new business paradigms, and, by way of example, suggests Googling his client Cider Mountain Recorders in Idaho to see "a kind of new/old model of a recording retreat."

"The key to a lot of current business models seems to be one of versatility," says Swist. "These businesses desire to capture a larger range of clients to compensate for downward trends in certain areas of the industry. Though we don't necessarily believe this to be a good trend because a multitasking room with a multitasking staff may invariably possess some compromises. However, nowadays we would hardly think of not providing video playback as an integrated feature of the control room design. As a result, we are now employing a lot more mechanical systems and devices such as plasma display lifts and/or motorized screen and projector housings to automate changing room functions."

Storyk says designers have to be thinking in terms of studios being used for special purposes, saying "the 'build it and they will come (rent it like a limo) model' is no go these days."

For his part, Berger says the RBDG has "always focused on our client's business model, oftentimes helping them to develop one, and then selecting and adapting an appropriate space into custom facility solutions to support their creative production and functional needs. Van Haaf offers one qualification to adapting design approaches to business approaches. "I cannot change the laws of physics," he says. "Acoustic Isolation is the first request my clients have. That has not and will never change. The business model still is to spend as little up front as possible--and iron out the electronic problems as they arise."

Huston remarks that "the whole field has changed dramatically. As the old saying goes, 'When one door closes, another door opens.' In terms of business this has meant for us a broadening of the field of acoustics and design services. In terms of adapting to current studio business models, we have both studied and embraced the practicalities and opportunities that new technologies have presented."

Technology Driven Design

Business trends are often driven by technology trends, and tech trends can also drive room design. Swist says that he believes that with his work, "we have needed to adapt a lot in terms of ergonomic design more than anything else." He says this completely user driven. "Will they use a small format control surface? Will they use a large format analog or digital console? How much rack space and where? Do they require a machine room or a quiet bay for drives and CPUs? All these questions need to be answered and integrated into a design solution that works and is flexible enough to adapt to unforeseen additions and/or deletions down the road." Swist adds that a demand for smaller, multi-function rooms creates design challenges.

"There is the whole issue of designing smaller rooms with multiple functions that also provide proper acoustical accuracy and translation. The technology now gives us the capability to do many more functions in a smaller space. However, the physical constraints for a good acoustical design remain unchanged."

Manzella cites the control center of the studio as a major factor influencing design. "The designs are constantly adapting to the 'console du jour' or 'work surface of the week,'" he says. "We continue to find clients interested in being prepared for 5.1 surround work, even if they don't do a lot of it 'yet.' We still enjoy designing large control rooms and live recording spaces, and we get a chance to a couple of times of year, but the mid-sized, 'trim' facility with a mid-sized budget for gear and construction is the trend of today. We see lots of [Digidesign] D-Command and D-Control based rooms that would have been large format analog consoles five or more years ago--this isn't your dad's Pro Control anymore! These work surface designs have been refined and boy do they make some very sharp looking mice these days! I do feel that SSL's move with the Duality is very shrewd and should keep the large format analog desk alive for some time to come. I am working on two projects right now that this console is perfect for. The AWS900 just didn't have enough inputs and we were looking at used SSL 4000's; now, I'm trying to sell my clients on the advantage of buying into the newest SSL at the ground floor! I really like the new work surfaces from Digi and SSL as well as the SSL Duality for their minimal acoustic footprint. These desks are lighter, don't have huge bellies full of electronics and they are much less significant to the bass response in an otherwise well designed control room."

New operational paradigms do impact design, Manzella says. "5.1 has fueled a large amount of our business over the past 5-6 years as studios have upgraded and folks who might have tried to "do it themselves" are a little too intimidated to tackle of surround room without professional help. I would have to say that surround formats for music (SACD, DVD-A, Dual Disc) are really awesome and we enjoy listening to them a lot. I know if you interview our clients, 90% will tell you that they do less than 10% of their work in surround. Will surround for music survive? I hope so.

Computer based production offers additional challenges. "5.1 Rooms that are workstation based are challenging on several fronts," Manzella says. "Now that Computer Monitors and Program monitors are almost all flat, this is a huge improvement in the negative impact all this clutter used to have on the acoustics in a control room. But, everyone wants more and larger cinema displays and it's not uncommon for a writer's studio or post environment to want three computer displays right in front of them along with the 5.1 Center speaker. We built a lot more rooms based on near/mid field monitor solutions so where does all this stuff go and still work ergonomically as well as acoustically? And, 'Oh yes, I want a 60-inch plasma program monitor as well!'--a constant battle..."

Smaller console footprints are an example of an area where today's technology is impacting design, says Huston. "Although acoustics as a science is absolute, its application is extremely adaptable." While the design of studio performance spaces are likely driven by their function, in control room design, "smaller recording consoles--or 'control surfaces' as they now seem to be called--have, in general, led to the trend for smaller control rooms. On the other hand, quite a few clients have opted to have their control room sized for the possible installation, at some later date, of a full-sized, fully automated analog conventional console, such as an SSL or Neve, to compliment their Pro Tools recording format."

van Haaf says that while smaller gear is now performing more tasks than ever, he doesn't see that affected the overall space taken by "all the gear that still needs to be accommodated." He declares, "The expectation that people would be working from the studio in the box has proven a misconception. Screening rooms and dubbing stages seem to get larger and more elaborate too. Educational facilities are faced with an ever increasing demand to cover all the bases." For his part, Storyk cites all digital production, easier wiring and use of "thinner low frequency control devices" as having a positive impact on designs. While Pelonis acknowledges that "technology is always changing. If it weren't, that would be something to report" he says that despite those changes, "As it is, I am right on top of the trends and changes but as odd as it may sound, that is no change to my business."

A broader approach is taken by Berger when asked how audio technology impacts his designs. "Adaptation is essential to design, he explains. "The success of our business is based on responding to the realities of the market place, our clients' needs, and the constraints of each project--which include budget, schedule, performance expectation, and site conditions. For more than ten years, we have been adapting to the evolutionary needs of combined media (audio for pictures being one of the biggest issues) and providing leadership and direction in design. Solutions that coordinate large screen projection with multi-channel, multi-speaker format audio have borrowed from our involvement with the design of hundreds of theater projects, dating back to eight of the first ten LucasFilm THX theaters. We're seeing all of those technology advances permeate every kind of facility we do."

Berger does offer specific examples of technology having a direct design impact: "Digital audio processing and amplification have rapidly improved the signal to noise ratios in every kind of facility, making ever quieter HVAC systems and greater sound isolation much more critical design challenges. Fortunately, our long experience in achieving this kind of performance for the most demanding facilities has given us the tools to achieve similar results in all project types."

van Haaf reports that while, "Things still need to be hooked up via wire, mostly," he finds a similar impact from digital technology as cited by Berger. "The air conditioning of these spaces has become more complicated because of the specific requirements of digital gear," he explains. "I would say our job has become harder, and certainly not something to be attempted by the amateur or for that matter the faint of heart."

Technology That Enhances Design

Swift says that modern computer based applications "are fantastic in aiding or corroborating one's intuition in creating an acoustical concept design. An even more fantastic tool is the use of new computer aided design applications that allow us to totally create the environment virtually in 3D including rendered finish treatments and bit mapped graphics of the actual gear being used in a room. This allows us to create virtual walk-throughs of the space for our client's concept evaluation and our design development."

"Great tools are at our disposal these days," says Storyk, for " designing, measurement" and "communications." Though Huston qualifies that regardless of the tools, "As every studio design is a creative challenge that I look forward to, I cannot truthfully say that new technology has made it harder or easier."

Pelonis cites specific tools like CAD software and acoustic analyzers that "make work a bit more efficient--but the backlash is that people expect much more and I believe I can do much more." He says he has to be careful not to overextend his company based on these expectations. "My style has always been to push it to the edge so I tend to take on more than I should. I am being much more selective these days. I do pass up many projects. Not for any reason other than I think one of my friend/competitors might be better suited either geographically, stylistically or both.

Room Treatment Options Abound

While Storyk offers the simple statement "absolutely," A qualified "Yes" is how Huston replies when asked if there are new acoustic materials and treatment options he employs. "I rarely incorporate proprietary acoustical products into my designs," Huston elaborates, "preferring instead to design all my low frequency and diffusion devices to be specific for the desired acoustical control required in the rooms in question and incorporated into the construction using, wherever possible, common or readily available building materials. This does not mean that I do not think that RPG or any of the other companies out there do not have effective products, most of them do. I have the greatest respect for the Dr. Peter D'Antonio, his research into acoustics and his acoustical products. I guess that I just do not really like to hang things on the wall.

Having said that, I do specify specific brands of specialized devices for the isolation of ceilings and floors. For instance, I have been using Kinetics isolation products since the early eighties and, because they perform so well, see no reason to change. Also, there have been some new ideas and products in the area of CLDS (Constrained Layer Damping Systems) that interest me greatly. For instance, whereas for the last 35 years or more I have been using 1/2" Sound Deadening Board (Celotex) as a dampening agent between layers of sheetrock, I now specify an Audio Alloy product called Green Glue. I am extremely happy with the results. Also, in the same CLDS category, Quiet Solution's products, such as QuietRock 525 and 545, although relatively expensive, are fabulous when the highest order of soundproofing is required. I am using QuietRock 545 in a really high-end home recording studio."

With a different kind of qualification, Manzella also answers "Yes, but I can't tell you all of our secrets! We use a lot of project specific solutions designed in house. I'm talking about tuned bass traps and such. We're not re-inventing the wheel, but we are using techniques that I don't see a lot of other firms using to control low frequency decay in Control Rooms. I've always been a bass trap fanatic and we continue to try new combinations of solutions on different projects and for different applications.

Manzella does allow that more "out of the box" acoustic solutions are now available besides foam-based tools. "And," he adds, "there a lot of companies that are willing to give you advice on how to best use their products in your specific situation. This is a very good solution for clients who really can't afford an acoustic design firm." A client's budget can limit the tools that are available, he suggests. "We will continue to work with any client who has a reasonable expectation with a reasonable budget. In other words, if you expect a $1M facility for $200K, I'll pass, but if you expect a nice $200K facility and you have reasonable expectations about what you'll be able to achieve, then we want to talk with you. Of course we always want to talk with the folks who have multi millions as well! There's just less of them to go around these days."

van Haaf offers a less than positive assessment of new acoustic treatment materials. "Very little options remain when you are constantly faced with budget restrictions," he cautions. "New technologies tend to be more costly at the outset. Conservative thinking in design technology forces us to find new innovative ways of applying existing simple materials, and meanwhile achieving the desired acoustical and esthetic effect. Finding a new way of using cardboard in the studio is the name of the game. And the cost of some specialty materials such as copper and lead have increased to the point where there is very little wiggle room for the innovative use of materials to begin with." van Haaf offers a simple summation to answer the question of whether he find new treatment options a boon to design: "Unfortunately, the answer is no."

The acoustic treatments available are continually changing, says Pelonis, "and I am very involved in these changes. I started in this business designing and manufacturing acoustical devises that I still employ in my work." He says that there are "lots of new techniques and lots of new people trying to get in on the acoustical treatment wagon. Some bring positive reinforcement that will befit the end user and some don't. All in all, I believe the engineering community is very sophisticated and will forge through and benefit from those companies and devices with integrity."

Swift says, "now that they can be built virtually any size and any shape, the use of modular isolation systems has become an attractive option to some clients because of capitol investment concerns on leased property. It is also becoming attractive because of the decrease in facility disruption during installation. There are also some tax advantages involved.

Berger says that "there are more products and they're accessible to a wider range of applications, both in terms of cost and function. Unfortunately, that also means that there are a lot of products out there that don't perform the way that they're advertised, and a lot that are not up to the level of quality or aesthetic appearance that our clients demand. If you're careful, though, there's a much bigger selection of options that are both cost-effective and attractive. RBDG, he says, is "always developing new and unique ways to solve our client's acoustical needs. Custom solutions provide the most direct and effective manner to solving an acoustical problem or to achieve the desired result. To be able to offer these one-off acoustical solutions to a wider audience, we started pArtScience, a company dedicated to crafting cost effective, custom acoustical products."